Jake Melksham | Demonwiki (original) (raw)

DOB: 29 August <1991>

MFC Debut: Round 1, 2017 vs St Kilda at

From: Oak Park/Calder Cannons/Penleigh/Essendon, trade for 2015 National Draft selection #25, 2023 Rookie Draft selection #12

Honours:
2022 VFL premiership player

Number: 18 (2017-)

Games: 107* (221* total to end 2023)
Goals: 123* (180 total)
Career statistics

Selected at #10 in the 2009 National Draft, Melksham spent six years with before being traded to Melbourne. He missed <2016> while serving a doping suspension relating to a supplements regime introduced by the Bombers. When he was eligible to play again, Melksham started his career with the Demons in defence. After a rocky start where he dropped out of the side for three weeks, he returned as a forward and proved a handy goalkicker in the second half of the year.

Melksham played exclusively as a forward in <2018>, contributing 32 goals in 23 games, and signed a contract extension tying him to the club until the end of <2022>. Had an interrupted <2019> campaign when a broken foot suffered in Round 8 kept him out until Round 20. His <2021> season was delayed by a pre-season hamstring injury, and he couldn't cement a spot in the side when he returned. Melksham played nine games between Round 3 and Round 12 then only twice more before missing the club's premiership winning finals campaign.

He remained a fringe player at the start of <2022>, only playing three of the first 11 matches, then not again until Round 18. In this time he injured his hand in an altercation with teammate Steven May. Once he got back in the side, Melksham played out the year in the seniors, appearing in the last eight games of the season, including two finals, and registering his equal goal tally in a Melbourne game with four against in Round 22. He then returned to the VFL, to help Casey win the premiership with four Grand Final goals.

Melksham started <2023> in the senior side but dropped out of the side after Round 5, and didn't return until Round 16. From there he restablished his place in Melbourne's attack, kicking the winning goal late in the Round 18 game against before suffering a serious knee injury in the last game of the year and missing finals. Melksham was delisted but Melbourne committed to selecting him again in the 2023 Rookie Draft.

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